(Renewables Now, 11.Apr.2019) — Italian renewables-focused utility Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) on Wednesday said it has concluded the purchase of an additional 4.62% stake in its Chile-based unit and announced plans to support an upcoming capital hike at the same subsidiary.
Enel has settled two previously announced share-swap transactions, buying nearly 1.71 billion shares of Enel Americas SA (NYSE:ENIA) common stock plus about 18.9 million American depositary shares (ADSs), each of which represents 50 shares of common stock. The Italian company paid CLP 198 billion (USD 298.9m/EUR 265m) for the shares and a further USD 164.7 million (EUR 146m) for the ADSs.
These transactions have increased Enel’s total stake in Enel Americas to 56.42% from 51.8% of its share capital. The Italian company noted that it plans to vote in favour of Enel Americas’ proposal to implement an up to USD-3.5-billion capital increase. If this move is approved at a meeting scheduled for April 30, Enel will subscribe shares corresponding to its current stake in Enel Americas, it said.
As announced in late February, the proposed capital hike is expected to bolster the financial position of Enel Americas so it could pursue new opportunities for organic and inorganic growth, optimise cash flows and improve its debt level.
The Chile-based subsidiary has more than 11 GW of installed capacity and invests in electricity generation and distribution in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru. It serves over 24 million customers.
(CLP 100 = USD 0.151/EUR 0.134)
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.887)
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